A Norwich man is facing 20 counts of animal cruelty after police say he was living in squalid conditions with cats so neglected several of them nearly died from flea infestations.

Walter A. Cooper Jr., 47, of 72 Vergason Ave., was charged on Monday after a nearly year-long joint investigation between the Norwich Police Department’s animal control officer and the Uncas Health District. He was arraigned Monday in Norwich Superior Court. His next court date is Oct. 2.

Authorities first visited Cooper’s home on Nov. 11, where they reported they could smell the odor of cat waste from as far away as 50 feet.

After getting permission from Cooper to search his home, investigators found his apartment filled with garbage and inadequate supplies for the 19 cats living there.

The home’s interior was “covered wall to wall” by cat feces that ranged in height from 4 inches to 2 feet, police said a statement.

“One bedroom had a single paper plate that had about one tablespoon of dry cat kibble on it. The remaining five or six animal food or water dishes were dry and dirty — several had cobwebs,” according to a police affidavit. “Two fly strips, which were hanging in the hallway, were totally covered by hundreds of dead flies.”

During the next several months, authorities worked closely with Cooper to improve living conditions in his home, and he agreed to send his cats to a facility in Willimantic for treatment at no cost.

According to police, Cooper never followed through.

On June 7, officials called Cooper to set up another inspection, but had no contact with him through July 2.

Cooper reportedly has a history of “under-estimating or under-reporting” the actual number of animals he owns, and city police responded to his home in March 2009 to find a cat so emaciated and neglected it had to be euthanized.